Mandrel



H. E. DIETRICH MNDREL Filed Aug. 2s, 1930.I

Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES HAROLD E. DIETRICH, F CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE VISIKING CORIOBA- PATENT oFFlcE vTION', 0FCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA l MANDBEL ,.ipplicatimr med.August 23, 1930. serial No. 477,357.

This invention relates to. mandrels which are employed in the shirringof Sausage cas,- ings, or the like, and it is particularly adapted to beused in practicing the method of preparing sausage casings or stuiiingswhich is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,616,971,granted to Villiam F. Henderson, February 8, 1927.

Either cellulose or animal casings may be shirred upon the improvedmandrel, but it is particularly adapted for use with cellulose easings.l

One method ofproducing cellulose casings comprises the steps ofextruding viscose; coagulating the extruded viscose; purifying thecasing; introducing into the walls of the casing a small percentageofsome hygroin connection scopic agent, such as glycerine, and drying"the casings.

After the casing has been dried, it is pret'-` erably shirred upon acollapsible `1nandrel from which it is transferred to a vstoragemandrel.

The casings loadedn storage mandrel's may be shipped to sausagefactories and preserved indefinitely. When the casing is to' be stuffedvthe storage mandrel is broughtinto alincment with the stu1i`er-hornofthe stuling machine and .the casing is transferred, as a unit, to thestuiTing horn' by slidingir it thereon.

The present invention relates particularly to the collapsible mandrelupon which the dried casing is shirred before it is transferred to thestorage mandrel, and particular objects of the invention are to providea shirring member which will facilitate the task` of shirring thesausage -casings; which will insure a shirred casing suitable fortransfer from the storage mandrel onto the stuer horn, and which is otsimplified construction.

Many other objects and advantages of the 'some ofthe parts beingV shownin elevation; "Fig 3 :is an enlarged section taken on line 3-8 of Fig.2, a cam member or pin forming part of the device being shown rotatedthrough an angle of 180 from the position wherein `it is shown in Fig.2; Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the` improved mandrel;

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged sections taken substantially on line 3-3 ofFig. 2 and illusy trating changed positions of parts constituting themandrel, and Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section through the shirring endof themandrel, a storage mandrel being shown in connection therewith toillustrate the manner in which the shirred sausage casing is transferred to the storage mandrel.

In the illustration given, A designates'a s `standard which may besecured to any suitable support (not shown) ;l B, a collapsible mandrelcarried by the standard A; C, a

sausage casing in shirred condition; and D,

a storage mandrel. U y A The standard vA preferably comprises avertically disposed bar 10 having an aperture l1 in its yupper end andprovided with brack ets12 at its lower end, which `brackets may beemployed to securethe standard to its support (not shown).

The `collapsible. mandrel B preferably .comi prisesa pair ofapproximately semi-circular sections 15 and 1G. The two sectionsfprojectthrough the aperture 11. The lower section 16 is'supported directly bythe bar`10 and two approximately semi-circular members 18 which areriveted to the bar and'also welded thereto, as indicated at 19.A .Theupper section l15 has two approximately semi-circular pieces 20 securedthereto by screws 21 or the equivalent, the -pieces 20 being disposedone on either side"'of the bar 10 toprevent longitudinal displacement ofthe section 1'5. v

by a pin 23 which slidably engages the section 15 to permit relativemovement between the sections. The pin 23 projects through approximatelysemi-circular blocks 24 and 25 which `are welded to the inner surface ofthe sections 15 and 16, respectively, and limit movement of the sectionstoward each other.

lThe right-hand ends (Fig. 2) of the sec-. tions-15 and 16 are connectedto each other Disposed between the sections 15 and 16 is a cam member orpin 27 having a cross-section which is illustrated in Figs. 3, 5 and 6.It will be noted that the pin 27 is somewhat flattened and that it hasrounded oppositely disposed edges Q8, the flattened portions beingidentified by the reference character 29. The pin 27 is rotatable, andwhen it is brought into the position shown in Fig. 5, the seetions 15and 16 are spaced from each other as illustrated in that figure. If thepin is rotated through an angle of 180 from the position wherein it isshown in Fig. 5, it will assume the position wherein it is shown in Fig.6 and will permit the sections to approach and contact With each other.A handle 30 secured to one end of the pin 27 may be employed to rotateit manually.

The right-hand end (Figs. 1 and 2) of the mandrel B is preferablyequipped with a detachable thimble '32 having a tapered forward end 33which facilitates the task of pulling the sausage Casing onto themandrel and prevents injury to the sausage casing by 'the split end ofthe mandrel.

In the operation of the above described apparatus, the thimble 32 isfirst slipped over the right-hand end (Fig. 2) of the mandrel and thecam member or pin 27 then turned to the position wherein it is shown inFigs. 2 and 5 so that the mandrel is expanded to its maximum diameter.One end of the sausage casing is then pulled over the thimble 32 anddrawn backward toward the bar 10. The casing is then shirred or foldedonto the mandrel, whereupon the mandrel is collapsed by rotating the cammember or pin 27 into the position wherein it is illustrated in Figs. 3and 6 so that the section 15 may drop down upon the section 16 and thusreduce the mandrel to its minimum diameter. The thimble 32 is thenremoved and the casing is transferred. as a unit, onto the storagemandrel l).

-As shown in Fig. T, the storage mandrel D has a Vprojecting portion`it() of reduced diameter which is adapted to enter the right-hand end(Fig. 2) ot' the mandrel B to aline the storage mandrel with thecollapsible mandrel.

ln Fig. 7, l have. shown the casing C transf,

ferred from the mandrel B to the storage mandrel D.

In one embodiment of the inventiornrthe sections 15 and 16 are formedfrom a tube which has an outside diameter of eleven-sixteenths of aninch. The tube is cut longitu dinally by removing tivo strips vtherefromspaced 18()O apart, each strip being threethirty-seconds of an inch inWidth. The

cross-section of the cam member or pin 27 measures three-eighths of aninch through its major axisand one-,quarter of an inch through its minoraxis. When the cammember or pin 27 is turned so that its major axis isdisposed,`

as illustrated in Fig. 5, the mandrel has the shirred tube slips readilyfrom the mandre-l.,

A Ieaturc of the above described construe ltion is that the cammember-or pin 27 extends nearly the entire length of the mandrel and,therefore, holds the upper section 15 substantially parallel with thelower section 16 when the mandrel is in an expandedposition.

The foregoing detailed descriptirm vhas been given for elearness ofnmlerstandingl only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the aimended claim should be construed as broadly as'peigmisible, in view of the prior art.

Vhat 1 regard as new, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent, is

ln a device for shirring Sausage casings, a standard having an aperturetherein, and a collapsible mandrel having one end mounted in saidstandard, said mandrel comprising members extending longitiulinallythereof and adapted to receive said sausage casings, said membersprojecting through said aperture and one of said members being movabletransversely in said aperture v vhen said mandrel is collapsed orexpanded, a cam extending between said members substantially the entirelength thereof and rotatable to displace said transversely movable.member in a direction away from the other of said members whereby thediameter of the mandrel is increased, and means at the other end of saidmandrel and extending `between said inembers for holding them inalinement with nach other.

In testimony whereof. l have hereunto set my signature. this 6th dav ofAugust. 192i).

